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Six in hospital after 'indoor' barbecue

Six people from Hertfordshire have been taken to hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning after bringing a barbecue indoors.

Emergency services were called to a house on Gosmore Road in Hitchin just before 11pm last night.

A man in his 50s had collapsed and five other people had fallen ill. All of them were breathing normally and were treated at the scene before being taken to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage.

They had breathed in fumes from a charcoal barbecue which had been brought inside the property.

A spokesperson from the East of England Ambulance Service told us: "Unfortunately at this time of year we do start to see incidents relating to the use of charcoal barbecues and want to take this opportunity to emphatically warn people to use them safely and properly.

"Please make absolutely sure your barbecue is used and stored, even after the heat has died down, in a clear open space to ensure enough ventilation."

Last year, a woman died from inhaling carbon monoxide fumes after bringing a barbecue inside her tent in Norfolk.